Recently, members of the North Carolina Air National Guard left their homes in the Charlotte area to serve the people of South Dakota in reaction to the out-of-control forest fires. Two days ago, when a C-130 cargo plane was carrying fire retardant to the fires, the plane crashed. Four members lost their lives and two were injured. While the names of the injured have yet to be announced, the four who lost their lives in service to others were: Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal (pronounced like "Michael"), 42, of Mooresville, N.C.; Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, 36, of Belmont, N.C.; Maj. Ryan S. David (pronounced da-veed), 35, of Boone, N.C.; Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, 50, of Charlotte.

As a ceremonial sign of respect, there was a gubanatorial declaration to lower the American flag to half-staff for today.

But not in Carrboro. Both the American flags in front of Town Hall and in front of the Carrboro Century Center remained at full-staff all day.

What does this say about Carrboro values, and on the eve of the most patriotic day of the year?

Deb Butler, candidate for North Carolina Senate, will lead a cross-state caravan to Newton, NC for the “Love, Not Hate” protest against a recent sermon by Rev. Charles Worley in which he advocated placing homosexuals in death camps. Worley’s videotaped sermon has gone viral on YouTube and attracted nationwide media attention, creating a backlash of outrage from coast to coast.

“Rather than working on jobs like he promised back 2010, my opponent sponsored the Amendment that forced this hatred into the public square,” said Butler. “It’s a matter of priorities. We should be competing to bring more companies to North Carolina - not giving them reason to stay away. We've seen from national examples that states focused on dividing citizens and discriminating against their own have a harder time attracting top tier companies that bring good jobs with them. I think North Carolinians are more concerned about issues like job creation and preserving education, and that’s what I’ll focus on when I’m a state senator.”

A local group calling itself Catawba Valley Citizens Against Hate has planned a peaceful protest from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 on the lawn of the Catawba County Justice Center in Newton, NC. Butler plans to speak at the event and is rallying citizens to participate in a convoy that will leave Wilmington on Saturday, May 26 with stops in Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem,and Boone. Contact Lee Storrow at LeeStorrow@gmail.com for more information about the Chapel Hill stop.

Saturday, May 26

· Wilmington

8:00 a.m. at the Best Buy parking lot at 309 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC

Sunday, May 27

A local attorney and real estate agent, Butler serves on the Board of Directors of the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors, the Board of Trustees of Historic Wilmington Foundation and the Board of Directors of the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance. She announced her candidacy for NC Senate in February.